Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
1 NW OOIDA Drive, Grain Valley, MO  64029
Web site: www.ooida.com

Contact: Norita Taylor, norita_taylor@ooida.com 
Headquarters: (800) 444-5791

(Grain Valley, Mo., April 24, 2008) –Small business truckers across America are praising legislation introduced today by U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that will protect shippers, truckers and consumers from being exploited by unscrupulous supply chain middlemen in the trucking industry. The “Truthful Reliable Understanding of Consumer Costs” act or TRUCC Act will require that 100 percent of fuel surcharges levied on shipping customers be passed through to whoever actually pays for the fuel to haul the shipper’s goods – in most cases, that’s truckers.

“This bill will go a long way toward helping truckers survive the brutal cost of fuel,” said Todd Spencer, Executive Vice President, Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). “And it will provide needed assurance to shippers and ultimately consumers that higher shipping costs are actually because of higher fuel prices and not gouging by greedy middlemen. Senators Snowe and Brown should be commended for their leadership on this matter.”

Fuel surcharges have long been the primary mechanism for trucking companies to respond to increased fuel costs.  With diesel prices consistently rising, shippers are paying more now in fuel surcharges to get their freight moved than they ever have before. 

“It’s all too common for middlemen in the trucking industry to push shippers to pay fuel surcharges, but only pass along a portion of those surcharges, or none at all, to the truckers who are actually transporting the goods and paying the fuel bill,” continued Spencer.

Independent, small business truckers seldom deal directly with shipping customers.  Most of the freight loads they haul are acquired through third-party logistics companies or through larger trucking companies they are leased to as independent contractors.  Mid-size trucking firms often have contracts with shippers for “front hauls,” but depend entirely on brokers for “back hauls.” Small and mid-sized trucking firms that comprise the vast majority of the trucking industry have been particularly hard hit by record high diesel prices.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is the national trade association representing the interests of small-business trucking professionals and professional truck drivers. The Association currently has more 161,000 members nationwide. OOIDA was established in 1973 and is headquartered in the greater Kansas City, MO, area.